Abstract
Purpose: :
To evaluate dynamic visual acuity (DVA) in the peripheral visual field. This ability is important within the areas of sports, traffic safety, as well as for people with low vision; specifically those with central visual field loss. In this study we investigated both static- and dynamic visual acuity in the periphery of normally sighted observers using Gabor patches.
Methods: :
DVA and static visual acuity (SVA) was measured on the right eye of normally sighted emmetropes. Stimuli consisted of high-contrast Gabor patches; sine wave gratings multiplied by a Gaussian hull with a diameter of 2º, with the sine gratings drifting at 1, 2, and 4 degrees per second. Stimuli were presented, using MATLAB and Psychophysics Toolbox, on one of seven CRT monitors at the following retinal eccentricities: 10, 20 and 30 degrees, nasally and temporally as well as in the fovea. Subjects were informed to maintain fixation on a central fixation object during measurements at eccentric locations. An Adaptive Bayesian algorithm was employed to determine resolution thresholds at each eccentricity.
Results: :
The results show a trend towards both better static- and dynamic visual acuities for the temporal visual field at retinal eccentricities 20° and 30° compared to nasally. There appears to be a more rapid decrease in both static- and dynamic visual acuity with increasing eccentricity for the nasal visual field. In addition, we did not find any difference in DVA and SVA in the peripheral visual field for the velocities used in this study.
Conclusions: :
Results of these first preliminary measurements suggest that dynamic visual acuity measured with drifting Gabor patches is greater in the temporal visual field for eccentricities 20 degrees or larger. To confirm these results more measurements need to be performed on a lager sample of subjects.